Poena cullei

Poena cullei, or the penalty of the sack was an ancient Roman form of execution imposed on people convicted of patricide, or the murder of one's parents. It involved being sewn into a sack with vicious animals, most commonly a monkey, snake, and chicken, but others were sometimes used as well. The sack was then thrown into a body of water to sink. In the course of drowning, the animals would attack one another and the human in the bag.

Poena cullei probably varied in frequency of usage. The earliest account of which dates to 100 BCE and by 300 CE it had largely fallen out of favour. The method of execution enjoyed a short resurgence in Germany during the medieval era.

Category:Capital punishment